WHY THEY LEAVE?
Here are reasons teachers gave for leaving on the DeKalb County exit interview:
2010
Retiring 202
Moving 70
To another Georgia system 60
Personal reasons 58
Certification problems 46
2011
Retiring 164
Moving 70
Personal reasons 55
Family responsibilities 46
Other 44
2012
Retiring 165
Assignment complete 113
To another Georgia system 80
Moving 78
Personal reasons 54
2013
Retiring 268
Contract not accepted 255
To another Georgia System 127
Moving 76
Personal reasons 51
2014
Contract not accepted 280
Retiring 157
Not released 134
To another Georigia system 76
Moving 67
2015
Contract not accepted 286
Not released 157
Retiring 148
Assignment complete 67
Moving 63
Credit: DeKalb County School District
More and more teachers are leaving the DeKalb County School District.
Teachers leaving the district during the 2015-2016 school year cited salary, not being satisfied with their assignment and professional growth as top reasons for their departure, in exit interviews.
Officials in recent months have proposed signing and retention bonuses as well as incentive pay for teachers willing to work in schools facing achievement challenges.
Leo Brown, the district’s human resources chief, said during Monday’s monthly school board meeting that 471 teachers resigned during the 2015-2016 school year, down from 675 during the 2014-2015 school year. He called the district’s exit-interview system “antiquated,” saying responses to questions did little to address why teachers leave, suggesting questions seeking more elaborate answers.
“It limits our availability to get information,” he said during his monthly report to the board. “You have to allow (teachers) … to tell you why they’re leaving.”
Brown declined to elaborate on the type of questions on the exit interview, stating a need to report his findings to the school board first.
Five years ago, retirement was the leading reason teachers left the district. In 2015, the top reason was teachers not renewing their contracts, which hadn’t been among the leading reasons until the 2012-2013 school year. That year, the system found itself with a $14 million deficit. Gov. Nathan Deal also replaced the entire school board, citing their poor management of the district.
Rebekah Morris, a teacher at Cross Keys High School, said she’s heard from other teachers that their commute is a burden, as well.
“Many don’t live close to their schools in DeKalb,” she said, mentioning that many teachers also live in neighboring counties.
Pay has long been an issue for DeKalb County teachers, who went several years without a raise amid poor economic conditions and district funding woes.
In the past year, some teachers have seen raises boost their salary nearly 25 percent based on the number of years they have taught.
In the 2016-2017 proposed budget, teachers would receive a 3 percent raise and a $500 retention bonus, with the bonus paid after the school year’s first quarter.
Brown said, “Teachers have left DeKalb in favor of going to our neighboring districts due to pay. But that practice is likely to shift with the mid-year salary increase, and proposed salary increase again in July.”
“In the Atlanta Public Schools system, educators can make as much as $10,000 to $15,000 more with the same degree and number of years as they make in DeKalb,” said Deborah Jones, president of the Organization of DeKalb Educators, adding that district officials are making strides in addressing the salary concerns.
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